So insignificant at that moment seemed to him all the interests that engrossed Napoleon, so mean did his hero himself with his paltry vanity and joy in victory appear, compared to the lofty, equitable, and kindly sky which he had seen and understood, that he could not answer him.

There are no more uses of "paltry" in the book.

Show samples from other sources

I lick my lips, already thirsty, and hunch beneath the paltry shade of the Jack tree to consider my predicament.

Sabaa Tahir -- An Ember in the Ashes

There was no way an eighty-six-year-old man could have stopped them from getting away with their paltry loot.